Fashion Takes Center Stage at the Paris Olympic Games,2024

Paris, known as the City of Light, all around the globe, also holds the prestigious title of the City of Fashion. The country’s capital now hosts the Olympics, and the world focus shifts there while designers worldwide work on national team uniforms that find a unique spotlight in Paris.

Paris has been a world fashion beacon since the rise of the extravagant court of Louis XIV, and that leads up to today’s modern haute couture.

Among the worldwide designers mentioned, is Rome-based designer Stella Jean, who is Italian-Haitian. Taking the lead in outfitting the country’s athletes is Stella Jean, who cares about leaving an unforgettable mark during the opening ceremony for Haiti.

“For these athletes, it’s a victory just to be here,” says Jean. Her designs covered by the vibrant colors, serves as a canvas that reflect the vibrancy of cultural life here in the Caribbean nation and to the extend it intensifies. This resulted in just a mere two seconds of screen time, it attracted global attention.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, both in team size and budget, is Ralph Lauren. This will be the ninth time Lauren has dressed the US in opening and closing ceremony attire. His casual look of blue jeans and blazers will be seen on hundreds of athletes.

Lauren, one of the world’s richest designers, joins that large cast of big-time designers on this grand stage, which also includes Giorgio Armani, who first started dressing Italy’s teams at the 2012 Games.

The Olympics have also turned into the showcase event for a new generation of “indie” labels eager to gain sufficient traction in the market. This year brings out plenty of newcomers, with features on aspects like sustainability and adaptability, especially for the Paralympics.

“For many things, particularly designers and manufacturers, this is now a realization that it can be a massive platform,” said Alison Brown, co-host of the podcast “Keep the Flame Alive.” However, a significant theme for this year’s Games is sustainability.

That pressure to perform is palpable, and is only amplified by the setting at Paris, a city synonymous with style. “You always want to represent your country and the athletes well. But it seems like this time, the pressure to do it well has been turned up a notch,” Brown describes.

As the high-end Olympic opening ceremony is watched by the world, it is very quickly made apparent that when it comes to high-end Olympic fashion, all roads really do lead to Paris, where sport, culture and style are blended into one pinnacle of statement—affected so much more than just the games.

Visual details of the uniform designs of various participant countries are featured below:

India:

A mix of old and new

Canada:

A focus on inclusivity, adaptability

South Korea:

Inspiration from a national symbol

Britain:

Four-nation floral motif; Four nations, not one